{"id":2787,"date":"2025-12-22T21:16:44","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T20:16:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/economics.coach\/?p=2787"},"modified":"2025-12-22T21:16:44","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T20:16:44","slug":"c-the-sustainable-state-redefining-prosperity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/economics.coach\/en\/2025\/c-the-sustainable-state-redefining-prosperity\/","title":{"rendered":"C: The sustainable state \u2013 redefining prosperity"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"image_pdf\"<\/a>\"image_print\"<\/a><\/div>

Growth, growth, growth \u2013 that was the mantra for a long time. But honestly: why always more when the planet is groaning? We run in circles, count revenues while the air gets thicker.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shrinking without drama<\/h2>\n

The (German) CO\u2082 numbers are falling? Sounds nice \u2013 but that\u2019s not due to brilliant climate policy, rather to the pandemic and recession. In short: the climate breathes when we stop. The problem isn\u2019t stopping \u2013 it\u2019s that we immediately hit the gas again.<\/p>\n

\"Group
Are these young people really celebrating because GDP grew by 0.8 percent this year? Hardly. Photo: OneInchPunch \/ Envato<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An update for the GDP<\/h2>\n

Time to count our prosperity in a new way. Not only in euros and exports, but in things that truly matter: clean air, fair distribution, joy of life.<\/p>\n

Therefore: a GDP plus<\/strong> that combines four factors:
\n1. Classic Gross Domestic Product (GDP)<\/strong> \u2013 at 25 percent, because money still matters.
\n2. Climate indicator<\/strong> \u2013 measures whether emissions are decreasing.
\n3. Distribution indicator<\/strong> \u2013 shows whether prosperity is shared fairly.
\n4. Satisfaction index<\/strong> \u2013 measures how we are doing \u201cemotionally\u201d.<\/p>\n

This is not a hippie dream, but maths with meaning. And the \u201chappiness barometer\u201d already exists in the form of the UN World Happiness Report.<\/p>\n

Time is the new capital<\/h2>\n

\u201cNegative growth\u201d does not mean fewer jobs. If everyone works a little less, more people can find work \u2013 and everyone wins time back.<\/p>\n

This is not a hippie dream, but maths with meaning.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Time prosperity: that\u2019s the upgrade we urgently need. Less permanent stress, more balance \u2013 that also helps the climate.<\/p>\n

Quality beats quantity<\/h2>\n

Growth without direction doesn\u2019t get us anywhere. Sustainable prosperity means: less stuff, more meaning. Products that last. Work that matters. Politics that listens. And delivers.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not a step backward, but simply progress without blah-blah.<\/p>\n

\n
Your TEC Learnings:<\/div>\n
    \n
  • The drop in emissions was cyclical, not structural.<\/li>\n
  • GDP plus measures prosperity smarter \u2013 with climate, fairness and satisfaction.<\/li>\n
  • Time prosperity strengthens climate, health and cohesion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

    \u00a9 The Economics Coach 2026<\/strong> (title photo: TEC\/ChatGPT)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Growth, growth, growth \u2013 that was the mantra for a long time. But honestly: why always more when the planet is groaning? We run in circles, count revenues while the air gets thicker. Shrinking without drama The (German) CO\u2082 numbers are falling? Sounds nice \u2013 but that\u2019s not due to brilliant climate policy, rather to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[370,387,385,388,384,386,187,363,294,389],"class_list":["post-2787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sustainability","tag-climate-action","tag-fair-distribution","tag-gdp-plus","tag-happiness-economics","tag-postgrowth","tag-quality-of-life","tag-sustainability","tag-sustainable-prosperity","tag-time-wealth","tag-transformation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/economics.coach\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/economics.coach\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/economics.coach\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/economics.coach\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/economics.coach\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2787"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/economics.coach\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2787\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2789,"href":"https:\/\/economics.coach\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2787\/revisions\/2789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/economics.coach\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/economics.coach\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/economics.coach\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/economics.coach\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}